Xavi hails Pep Guardiola as "best coach in the world"

Xavi has heaped praise on his former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, describing the Manchester City boss as the "best coach in the world".

The Spaniard played alongside and then under his compatriot at Camp Nou and was an integral part of a club side widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time during Guardiola's time as manager from 2008 to 2012.

Guardiola has since gone on to enjoy trophy-laden spells at Bayern Munich and Man City too, and Xavi is keen to learn as much as he can from his old mentor.

"To be honest, I consider him the best coach in the world right now. So, any knowledge he can impart to me will be more than welcome. It's a privilege to have him around contributing ideas. My [coaching] concept is very similar [to Guardiola's]," Xavi told Man City's official website.

"Guardiola also wants to be dominant, he wants to have the ball, strong possession, lots of attacking movements... It's ultimately about being proactive within the game. It's about skilfully attacking the opponent in a certain way. In this sense it is not my idea.

"I've learned a lot with Guardiola, from the way he is, the ambition he has, the desire and passion that he feels. He's a football-obsessed tactician and it has been a pleasure to be around him. There was no question that Guardiola was going to be successful at [Manchester City]."

Guardiola holds the record for longest winning streaks in La Liga, Bundesliga and the Premier League - all three divisions he has managed in.